


A New World

by hyadrian



Category: The Chosen (1981), The Chosen - Chaim Potok
Genre: M/M, i actually wrote it a long time ago but just made an ao3 account so, well this is really gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 01:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6779077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyadrian/pseuds/hyadrian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Reuven stays at Danny's house while his father recovers, they have their own slumber party of sorts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New World

Danny quietly shut the door and then turned towards to Reuven. There was excitement glittering in his eyes. He pulled his pillow off of his bed and sat down on the floor with it. Resting his head in his hands, he started to grin.

“Honestly, I’ve never had a sleepover before.”

Reuven wanted to correct him, that this wasn’t really a sleepover, that he was really living with them for an extended period of time until his father recovered from his heart attack. He didn’t want to spoil the brimming excitement and joy brimming within his friend, so he held his tongue. Reuven didn’t have much experience with sleepovers either, but he had stayed at some of his friend’s houses a couple times. He nodded his head in agreement.

“Well, what do you want to do?”

Danny absentmindedly began to fiddle with one of his earlocks. Reuven had noticed that he often did that.

“I’m not sure. What do people normally do on sleepovers?”

Reuven couldn’t help but snicker, but it quickly stifled when Danny’s pillow smacked into his face. It was now Danny’s turn to laugh at his shocked stare. Reuven stood up from his seat on Danny’s bed and grabbed his own pillow and started beating his friend with it. Somewhere between the hits Danny managed to recover his own pillow, and the two were full on brawling. Danny had managed to land a particularly nasty hit on the left side of Reuven’s face, but he retaliated quickly with a swift hit square in Danny’s stomach. The hit was so strong that it even knocked his skullcap right off his head. 

Danny made the mistake of going to grab it, giving Reuven a perfect opportunity to land a finishing blow. Not really paying much attention to aiming, he swung as hard as he could and managed to slam his pillow right against his bottom. The force knocked Danny to the ground. Feeling superior, Reuven stood over the other in victory. He started to chuckle at Danny’s helpless position, until he toppled towards the ground when said friend grabbed right above his ankle and pulled as hard as could. There was a resounding thunk as he landed in a heap on the hard wooden floor. Feeling especially smug, Danny triumphantly sat on top of Reuven’s stomach. Reuven pushed him off though when there was a banging sound coming from downstairs. 

Danny laughed a bit sheepishly. 

“Well, I guess that’s our cue to be quiet.”

Reuven nodded. His face was a bit flushed from their pillow fight. Danny leaned against the side of his bed.

“So, what should we do?”

Reuven pondered that for a bit. He would normally suggest that they read, but they already did enough of that, and he figured Danny probably wanted to other things. Besides, there probably wasn’t anything in the house that Danny hadn’t already read. 

“Hmm..” 

He was half thinking about just suggesting they went to sleep, since they would have lots of time to hang out together during his extended stay, but Danny was staring at him with those wide eyes filled with anticipation. Reuven would’ve felt rotten if he spoiled that.

“We could play a game.”

Danny looked down sadly.

“We don’t own any games here, Reuven.”

Reuven almost smacked himself. What was he thinking?

“Well, we could play a word game, then.”  
Danny’s eyes shot back up and immediately were refilled with excitement. Reuven assumed he said the right thing.

“Really? Okay, let’s do it! What are we going to play? How do the rules go?”

The question came in quick succession, and Danny seemed to want an answer just as quickly. Wanting to please, he said the first thing that came to mind. 

“How about truth or dare?”

Danny nodded excitedly.

“Sure! How do you play?”

“Well, ones of starts by asking the other ‘truth or dare’. If you pick truth, you have to answer a question I pick, and if you pick dare, you have to do something I tell you.”

Grinning, he responded with excitement. 

“Sounds easy! Let me start! Truth or dare, Reuven?”

Reuven pursed his lips.

“Hmm… I suppose I’ll pick dare.”

Without even thinking about it, Danny immediately issued a command. 

“I dare you to turn your sweater backwards!”

Reuven eyed his friend curiously.

“That’s it?”

Anxiety swept across Danny’s face.

“What? Is that a bad dare?”

Reuven shrugged, and then did as he was told and turned his sweater around.

“Usually they’re a bit more interesting. It’s my turn now, though. Truth or dare, Danny?”

Danny was fiddling with an earlock again.

“Truth?”

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? Like in the sense of breaking a rule?” 

Danny scrunched his forehead in thought. 

“Well, once last year I came home somewhere around midnight after spending the day with my friends. My father was up waiting for me, and he was furious.”

Reuven couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

“What?” Danny asked accusingly.

“I guess I expected something worse. Although, I suppose we are talking about the son of Reb Saunders.”

Danny chose to ignore Reuven’s remark on his behavior and continued the game. 

“Truth or dare?”

“I’ll pick truth this time.”

Danny thought a bit, until his face visibly lit up when a good question had come to mind.

“Back at that ball game, where we first me, what was your very first thought when you first saw me?”

Reuven smiled fondly at the memory, even though it really hadn’t happened all that long ago.

“I thought you were like a wild animal. You hit like a madman.”

Danny shrugged. It was a fair answer, and it’s not like he could deny it. 

“Although, I’m glad we met there. Even if you made a less than satisfactory first impression.”

Danny snorted.

“Oh, please. It’s not like you were much better. You were quite rude in the hospital, you know.”

Reuven rolled his eyes.

“Yes, you’ve made me quite aware of it, Mr. Messiah.”

“Don’t be so cute, Malter.” 

The comment was slightly ruined by the smile the crinkled his face. He remembered his comment from their second meeting in the hospital. 

“I know you love it.”  
Danny couldn’t deny it truthfully, so instead he decided to get them back to the game. It was part of what made Reuven endearing, after all. 

“Well, it’s your turn now.”

“Truth or dare, Danny?”

Feeling confident, he puffed his chest out a bit.

“Dare.”

Reuven snorted at his confidence. ‘I better give him something good, then.’

“I dare you to put your blanket on like a dress.”

He expected Danny to become shy, but it seemed his confidence and enthusiasm only grew. He quickly snatched his afghan off the top of his bed and unfolded it. He wrapped part of it over one shoulder and tucked a piece under the wrap so it would stay up. It wasn’t a big blanket, so it hung above his knees. Becoming even more flamboyant, he struck a pose, extending his arm upwards and throwing his head back. 

“How do I look, Reuven?”

Reuven was lost in a fit of laughter when Danny wiggled his eyebrows. It was quite a sight, with a blanket for a dress and his earlocks just reaching the top of the blanket. Reuven clutched his stomach as he felt a stitch from laughing so hard, and Danny was almost in tears. Finally they managed to calm down enough to continue the game. 

“Okay, okay, you did it, Danny. Your turn now.”

Danny smirked. It was quite intimidating, and Reuven was slightly worried. What was he going to ask him do? 

‘I guess I’d better go with truth again...’

“Truth.”

Danny furrowed his eyebrows a bit, as if he wasn’t expecting this answer. He must have found an answer that he found satisfactory though, and the smirk quickly returned. 

“What’s the weirdest thing you can do with your body?”

Without thinking, Reuven grabbed his foot and reached it behind his head. Danny’s mouth almost dropped in shock.

“How did you do that?”

Reuven shrugged, still with his foot behind his head.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just really flexible. I can put the other one back too, you know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, here.”

With a little maneuvering, Reuven managed to bring his other foot behind his neck. Danny’s mouth almost dropped from shock. He didn’t even know that it was possible for anyone to do, let alone his best friend. However, Danny was removed from his stupor when Reuven’s face started to turn a little blue. 

“Ah, can you help me? I can’t get them back down.”

Danny snickered, but helped remove Reuven’s feet from behind his neck. He took few deep breaths, and gradually Reuven’s face returned to its normal color. 

“I guess it’s takes a bit out of me. Anyways, it’s my turn now.” 

Reuven could tell the competition was heating up, and he wanted to give something difficult for Danny.

“So, truth or dare?” 

Danny stroked the ever growing fuzz on his chin in thought. 

“Dare.”

Reuven smirked.

“I dare you to take an egg and crack it over your head.”

Danny opened his mouth in protest, but then shut it when he realized there really wasn’t any room for argument in a game like this. He gave Reuven a dirty glare, and then quietly opened the bedroom door to go downstairs and take an egg. He came back with a single egg, and gave Reuven one last look full of hatred. Reuven snickered as Danny lifted the egg to his nervously, removed his skullcap, and tapped it against his head a few times until it broke. 

The egg was all over his hair and on his face. Reuven’s snickering turned into a full on fit of laughter, and Danny stormed out of the room to go wash the egg out of hair. By the time Danny had returned from the bathroom, he had finally calmed down, but Danny still looked furious. His facial expression almost caused Reuven to laugh again, but he managed to contain it. 

“Truth or dare?”

Danny was tact and seemed bent on returning to the game, probably looking forward to getting back at Reuven. 

“Dare.”

Reuven felt the competition between them. Even if it was just a silly game, he felt he couldn’t back down and pick truth. 

Danny smirked, as if this was the answer he was hoping for.

“I dare you to sleep without your blankets tonight.”

Any trace of cockiness quickly disappeared from Reuven’s face. The night was already chilly, and the temperature would probably drop even more as it continued. Reuven frowned. That was quite petty, even for Danny. 

“Fine. Truth or dare?”

The response was instant.

“Dare.”

Reuven smirked.

“I dare you to let me sleep under your blankets.”

Danny’s face was expressionless. It looked as if there were hundreds of different thoughts racing through his mind. It looked something like Danny’s expression when he was working through one of his Freud journals, except there was an absence of wonder from his eyes. It seemed that he was working through something very difficult, but something extremely confusing that brought mildly unpleasant thoughts into his mind. Whatever he was thinking about, it didn’t seem like he was going to come to an easy answer. It gave Reuven a sort of pleasure to make Danny think like that.

“Danny?”

Danny’s gaze quickly snapped up and made eye contact with Reuven for an instant, then quickly looked at the wooden floors as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. The light was fading from outside, and they hadn’t turned on the lights, but Reuven was quite sure that Danny’s face was blooming in red. Reuven was about to ask again, but just as he opened his mouth, Danny responded.

“Fine.” 

“Danny, are you alright?”

“Never been better.”

Reuven felt awful. He wasn’t sure what he had done, but he knew it was apparently something. They had just been enjoying a night together and playing a game, and now the moment seemed to be ruined. Reuven was going to be staying until his father recovered, and he didn’t want his stay to be ruined by one bad night. 

“Danny, I’m sorry. Can we talk about it?”

Danny looked up angrily. 

“What’s there to talk about?”

Reuven gave him a disbelieving look. 

“We could always have a chat about what just happened.” 

Even through his sudden discomfort, Danny managed to roll his eyes. He still remained silent, however.

“Come on, Danny. Talk to me. We always talk to each other. What’s different about this.”

“What’s different?! I’ll tell you what’s different about this. Everything’s different.”

Reuven was completely perplexed. What was Danny going on about?

“Danny, you’re not making any sense. Can you explain what you’re talking about?”

Danny had pulled his knees up to chest, and peeked his gaze up from inside the space he had made for his head. His gaze was scrutinizing.

“Only if you’re sure you’re willing to hear it.”

Reuven nodded eagerly. It seemed whatever it was on his mind, it was really bothering Danny, and he wanted to help him. 

Danny blew out a puff of air.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you…”

Reuven furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but didn’t get the chance to ask, as Danny finally began to elaborate. 

“I know I’ve told you that I’m trying to learn to read Freud’s works, but while I’ve been learning German for it, I read some of the translated journals that the library had. Like I said, I haven’t been able to read a lot of his work, but one of them had something that really… interested me, I guess.”

Reuven was staring at Danny, listening to his every word. 

“Well, what was it?”

“Hush, I’m getting there. I’m just trying to word it properly. One of the journals described an overview on some of his findings and ideas about sexuality. You know, about how men like women and vise versa.”

Reuven nodded along, still listening intently.

Danny started to fiddle with one his earlocks nervously. 

“Well, see, the thing is, that he discovered some men didn’t necessarily like women, but they like men.”

Reuven’s eyebrows raised in shock, but he remained quiet, wanted Danny to get to the point.

“And, uh, so you see, I found that bit very interesting. Fascinating, in fact. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.” 

Reuven nodded again, but the gesture was really unneeded, since Danny wasn’t even maintaining eye contact anyways, preferring to stare at the wooden floors. 

“And, like I said, I don’t know a whole lot about it, but I’ve been thinking that some of what he said might apply to me…”

If possible, Reuven’s eyebrows raised a little higher. What Danny was saying wasn’t completely foreign to Reuven, but most people had refused to talk about it. It was actually quite a sight to see a conservative, Hasidic Jew talking about different sexualities.  
It seemed like Danny was waiting for Reuven to respond, so he did.

“So, are you saying that you think you might like men the way most men like women?”

Danny continued to stroke his earlock nervously, and then tentatively nodded.  
The idea was mostly foreign to Reuven, but he did his best to keep an open mind about it. This was his best friend, and he was determined to do his best to support him. 

“Well, I… suppose that’s fine. Do you know for sure?”

Danny’s shoulders relaxed, and it seemed as if he was much less tense that he had been before Reuven’s declaration of support.

“No, I’m not completely certain, but I’m quite sure that there’s a good chance of it.”

“Oh, really? Why’s that?”

A bright red flush spread across Danny’s face.

“Ah, well, ah… you see….”

‘Oh,’ Reuven thought.

“You mean you fancy someone?”

Danny tentatively met Reuven’s gaze. 

“I… suppose you could say that.”

Reuven’s lips instantly curved upwards. Not only did his best friend fancy someone, but this someone apparently also happened to be male. Now Reuven was really interested. 

“Really? Come on, tell me about him!”

Danny’s head recoiled from its burrow between his legs. 

“W-what?!”

“Oh, come on, Danny! I want to hear about this guy you like.”

Danny pouted, but he knew that he was going to have to tell Reuven anyways.  
“Well, he’s, um… he’s really nice. I’m really glad I met him, and I’ve always been intrigued by him ever since I met him.”

Reuven was surprised by how sincere and genuine his answer seemed to be. Now he really wanted to know who this young fellow happened to be.

“I gotta say, Danny, you two sound awfully cute.”

Danny continued to blush even further.

“Aah, thanks…”  
Danny had returned to his position with his legs folded up against his chest, and he rested his head on top of his knees. Reuven took the moment of silence to think about the situation. About what just happened, and what would happen next. Even though Danny had revealed his feelings, and Reuven had been supportive, he still seemed to be wound up about something. He almost looked as if he was protecting himself from something. 

“Danny, is that everything? You don’t look much better than when we first started this conversation.” 

“Well, I can’t say I was expecting to spill out my heart to you tonight. I expected this to be a lighthearted overnight, you know.”

Reuven nodded in agreement. He never really imagined himself ever having this sort of discussion, let alone with Danny, let alone tonight. 

“I just want to make sure you’re alright. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Danny murmured something under his breath. It was loud enough that Reuven could hear that  
he had spoken, but too soft to understand the words. 

“What was that?”

Apparently the comment had only been intended for himself, and Danny snapped his head up in shock. 

“Um, nothing.”

Reuven clicked his tongue.

“It doesn’t seem to be just nothing. Come on, tell me.”

“I don’t think you’d want to hear it.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Reuven, just let it go.”

“No, Danny, I’m not letting it go. This is really bothering you. Just tell me.”

Reuven shot him an expectant gaze, as if to say ‘I’m not letting this go’. 

Danny sighed nervously. It was a shaky sigh, one that rattled his whole body. 

“Well, if you really must know, I said ‘Reciprocation would be a nice start.’”

Reuven’s entire body went rigid. Danny and Reuven stared at each other for what felt like an endless amount of time. Both of their faces were expressionless. Finally, Reuven found the courage to break the silence.

“You mean that you were… talking about… me?”

Danny hesitated for a moment before giving a slight nod of his head.  
Reuven averted his gaze to the ground and Danny started to play with one of his earlocks again. There was a long silence between them. It wasn’t completely uncomfortable, but there was certainly tension between them. It was a busy silence, as there were hundreds of thoughts swirling around in both of their minds. Danny was full of worry as he considered the very real probability of losing his best friend forever, and Reuven was still trying to comprehend what had just been revealed that night. Eventually words began to tumble unceremoniously out of Reuven’s mouth.

“Umm, Danny? How long has… this… been going on for?”

Danny continued to play with one of his earlocks instead of responding. His face was blotchy, as he was both pale from nervousness yet also red from embarrassment. Just as Reuven decided he was going to have to prod Danny some more, he responded. 

“I… I started realizing it during one of our library visits… and then during your visit with your  
father to your cabin last summer, I knew it was true… I could’ve stopped it, I should’ve, this is all so wrong, Reuven, please, I’m so sorry, I, I just-”

“Danny!”

Danny’s eyes snapped up from the floor. They were bloodshot and filled with tears. There was a wild look in them, as if he was just moments away from escaping any way he could. But there was also a hollow, lonely tone to them. 

“Danny, calm down, okay? I’m not going to leave. It’s, well, it’s all very sudden, but I don’t hate you or anything.”

Danny swallowed, took a long, shaky breath, and then nodded.

“Do you want to talk about this?”

Danny furrowed his eyebrows a bit, as if trying to decide what the best option. Reuven didn’t rush him and let him think everything out. 

“I… suppose we should probably discuss this. Well, I mean, if you’re comfortable, that is.”

Truthfully, Reuven was a little uncomfortable, but he knew he would’ve been feeling anxious in any situation akin to this, even if it was a slightly more regular one. Reuven didn’t have any romantic history of his own, so everything about the situation was new to him. Although, it certainly didn’t help him relax when this was his male best friend confessing their feelings to him.

“You’re right, I think we should too. I mean, we’ve discussed lots of things before, so I think we can handle it.”

Danny nodded. 

“Reuven, be honest with me. Are you disgusted by this?”

He instantly shook his head.

“No, I’m not disgusted. I can’t say I’m not shocked, or surprised, and I certainly feel a bit weird, but I don’t harbor anything negative.”

Danny sighed with relief.

“Thank you, Reuven. Not just for this, but for everything. I mean, I’m certainly thankful for this, but really, you’ve just been so kind to me. You’re much better of a friend than I deserve.”

Reuven absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck with his hand. 

“I’m flattered, but why do you say that?”

Danny hung his head in shame.

“I can’t say most best friends turn around and develop romantic feelings for the other.”

“Well, I can’t say we’re like most best friends.”

Danny curled his lips slightly at that.

“No, really, Danny. I don’t actually think our friendship is what most people would call typical.”

“And why’s that?”

It seemed that even during their most emotional and heartfelt discussions, the two would still continue their usual verbal banter. 

“Well, for starters, I think we spend more time together than most friends do. Though I suppose that’s not necessarily strange by itself. The only way I can describe it is… something like the mood between is us different. I think we take ourselves more seriously than most other friends do.”

Danny nodded. Reuven was right, they took their friendship very seriously. 

“Reuven?”

“Yes, Danny?”

“I want you to know that I would really like it if we could be friends for a long time.”

“I’d like that too Danny.”

This time, the silence between them was comfortable. It was also contemplative, as both Danny and Reuven reflected on what had happened between them. Reuven’s thoughts were still racing, but he wasn’t nervous as he was before. He started to remember random instances between them: lazy summer days spent at the library together, furtive glances when one thought the other wasn’t looking, walking together down Lee Avenue while the afternoon sun filtered down to the sidewalk through the rows of sycamore trees. They made him feel something in his heart. It was best described as the fondness that comes from nostalgia, even though all of this happened within the last week. 

“Hey, Danny?”

Danny looked up again from the floor. He wasn’t nervous anymore, and he wasn’t fiddling with an earlock either. 

“Yes?”

Reuven wasn’t monitoring what he was saying anymore, instead preferring to just let the words tumble out however they felt. 

“I’m not certain about anything… I mean, this is all just so sudden, but… well… I think I feel something similar. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but, well…”

Danny seemed to be watching Reuven’s every move, as he was the most fascinating thing in existence. Reuven lifted his right hand over his heart. 

“I think I feel something different here.”

There was already a blush blooming across Danny’s face.

“Do y-you mean…?”

Reuven averted his gaze, but it didn’t necessarily matter, since Danny had already done so.  
“I, well, I think so…”

Now both of them had a bright red blush across their faces.

“Danny, I know how most couples act with each other… but, but can we not do that? Can we take it slowly? Can we do things our own way? There’s just so much uncertainty, and, things are just a lot different…”

Reuven babbling trailed off when Danny stood up, shuffled the few steps across the room, and sat himself down next to Reuven. Reuven couldn’t help but notice how close their hands were.  
Danny nodded.

“Reuven, do you remember how you just mentioned that we don’t act like normal friends? I think it’s because there’s something else between us. And this is it.”  
Slowly, Danny slid his hand the few centimeters over to Reuven’s. 

“I-I think you’re right…”

Neither were looking at each other, and Reuven was mentally berating himself for his continuing stutter. 

The sun had set a while ago, and the streets of Brooklyn were blanketed in a comforting dusk. Neither had turned on the lights because of their discussion, but now that was certainly the last thing on either of their minds. At this point, it was most likely late enough that they were expected to be asleep, or at least in bed. 

The two continued to sit side by side with their hands enclasped. 

It was if a whole new world was opened for both of them. For Danny, it was a galaxy of new hope and possibility, as he never expected to have any kind of chance that he had just been given. For Reuven, it was a foreign land of different, but not entirely unfamiliar, ideas and opportunities. It was if an enormous door had opened for the both of them. They weren’t exactly the same door, but they were very similar nonetheless. 

The silence between them was intimate, as if they could still communicate with each other without words or eye contact. 

The two remained quietly together, in silence, holding hands as they carefully entered this new world they had just created for themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> hehehehehheheheheehhh. well. there it is. thanks for reading! i love the chosen- probably a little too much.


End file.
